Homework Help 101: What Is the 9 Multiplication Trick?

Did you know that almost 93% of Americans say they struggle with math? Math is a skill that is perfected over time, with patience and practice. People are not hardwired to be proficient at math. 

Does this sound like you? Are you looking for easy ways to learn math?

Did you know that you can learn your nine times table off of your two hands? Math tricks can help you solve certain problems, but learning math strategies will help you solve just about any problem. 

Keep reading to learn the 9 multiplication trick right here.

Use Your Two Hands  

One of the best multiplication tricks for learning your 9 times tables is to use your hands. Hold up your ten fingers. Look at the 9 multiplication problems:

9 x 1 

9 x 2

9 x 3

9 x 4

9 x 5 

9 x 6 

9 x 7 

9 x 8

9 x 9

How this trick works:

For 9 x 6, for example, you’ll put down your 6th finger, leaving 5 fingers up on one hand and 4 fingers up on the other. The answer then is 54. 

For 9 x 8, put down your 8th finger. You’ll have 7 fingers to one side and 2 to the other, making your answer 72. 

This is a fun little trick for younger students, but using your fingers to solve math problems as you get older isn’t the best strategy. 

Other Multiplication Hacks for 9s

The 9 times tables seem to be a little more difficult to learn but there are a few more tricks to help learn them. Let’s look at two additional tricks.

Trick 2 

When multiplying 9 times the numbers 1-10, the digits in the product add up to 9. The first digit in the product is one less than the number by which you’re multiplying. 

9 x 1=9 

9 x 2=18

9 x 3 =27 

9 x 4=36 

9 x 5=45 

9 x 6=54

9 x 7=63

9 x 8=72 

9 x 9=81 

9 x 10=90

So, if you didn’t know the answer to 9 x 4, for example, you would say what is 4 – 1? That’s 3. So your second number when added to 3 needs to equal 9. That number is 6, so your answer is 36. 

Trick 3 

List the numbers from 0 to 9 in one column and 9 to 0 in another column next to it:

0         9

1         8

2         7

3         6

4         5

5         4

6         3

7         2

8         1

9         0

If you look at the numbers in each row, you’ll notice that those are the products of the 9s facts from zero to ten. For example, look at row 3. It shows the product of 9 and 3 which equals 27. 

If you, your child, or your student are trying to learn and memorize multiplication facts, visit www.dadsworksheets.com. You’ll find printable multiplication charts and more math-related materials. 

9 Multiplication Trick: Pass It On 

The 9 multiplication trick is fun to use especially with kids just beginning to learn their multiplication facts. The best practice though is to memorize math facts for quick computation.

This is important when students get into more complicated math problems. Knowing the basics enables you to move on to the next steps more quickly. 

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